Croatan National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
363 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Broad Creek
32% of Broad Creek’s land is conserved: 630 acres
120 acres are parks and preserves, 66 per 1,000 residents. 16% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
32%
630 acres · of 3.1 sq mi of land
Trails
0.0 mi
0.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
120 ac
66 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
16%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Broad Creek?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Broad Creek have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Broad Creek is ahead of 49% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Broad Creek’s overall grade.
Conserved land32% of the land · typical NC town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · NC 0.2 · U.S. 0.4DPark land66 acres of park per 1,000 residents (120 acres) · NC 8 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home16% of residents within a half mile of a park · NC 51% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 49%
LessMore
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Broad Creek. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
630 conserved acres
32% of Broad Creek’s land. Who manages Broad Creek’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service362 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits148 ac
Not recorded266 ac
Private Conservation · 414 acNational Forest · 362 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 3 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croatan National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 362 | Open |
| North Carolina Coastal Land Trust - Gales Creek Preserve at Camp Sam Hatcher Private Conservation | Not recorded | 266 | Unknown |
| North Carolina Coastal Land Trust Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 148 | Closed |
Things to do
1 places to go in Broad Creek
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Broad Creek
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Broad Creek: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 |
| High (°F) | 56 | 58 | 64 | 72 | 79 | 85 | 88 | 87 | 83 | 75 | 66 | 59 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 4.0 |
April is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 88 °F). 7.8 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 88 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Broad Creek →
Questions about parks and trails in Broad Creek
How much of Broad Creek is conserved land?
32% of its land, against a typical 3% for a North Carolina town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Broad Creek’s trails?
Croatan National Forest doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Broad Creek?
55,395 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Broad Creek or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 483 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Broad Creek have?
Ahead of 49% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Broad Creek neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →